Rotary snowplow



061:. 11, 1932. v T, 1 NEAL 1,881,865.

ROTARY SNowPLLow Filed March 24, 19,31

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Patented Oct. 11, 1932v NETE@ STATES THOMAS J'. NEAL, OF JULIET,ILLI'NOIS ROTARY SN OWPLOW Application led March 24, 193,1. Serial` No.524,951.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements in rotary snowplows, and has for its principal object the provision of an improvedconstruction of this character which will be highly efficient in use andeconomical in manufacture.

It is an object of this invention to provide an'improved rotary snowplow and, more specicially, a plow which may be mounted on an automotivevehicle truck body or other automotive vehicle.

' Another Vobject of the invention is to provide an improved rotary snowplow comprising a plurality of blowers rotatably mounted in offsetrelation so asto plow a track that is substantially flat and wide, itbeing well lunderstood thatthe plows now in use,lp ar ticularly thoseadapted for highway use,

plow a track that is deeper in the centerthan` at the sides and istherefore an arc in cross section, which renders the track thus ploweddisadvantageous for it is apparent that a flat track is desirable. Y

A further object of the invention is to provide a frame carrying aplurality of rotary blowers arranged in offset relation at the front endof a truck or like body and pivotally mounted thereon so as to bemovable in a vertical arc by reason of whicharrangement the blowers maybe elevated vso as to eat into and work down through a drift `of snowfrom. the top thereof.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a controlarrangement for vertically raising and lowering the blowers.

@ther objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing 4showing the preferred form of construction, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view ofV an automotive truck showing theinvention associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view onthe-line 2 2 inFig.1; l f r y Fig. 3 is afront elevational view of the blowers,`on line 3-3 in Fig.- 2;

Vclosed within the hood 28, this unit being in on the chassis 15 ofthetruck, all of which may beV of any approved construction since the sameforms no part of thisinvention; ItV will likewise be understood thatwhile the invention is illustrated as being associated with a truck itis within the purviewof Vthis invention to mount the sameon any-othersuitable power drivenvehiclesuch as'are used on railways, orelectrically operated trucks for use on either highways or sidewalks.

o On the truck platform 14 are uprights or `blocks 16 and 17 (Fig. 2)which include bearing collars 18 and 19 in which a shaft 20 isjournaled. The shaft 2O is attachedat its outer ends, by means ofsuitable U-bolts 2l and 22, to a rectangular frame 23 which includesside rails 24 and 25 that extend along the sides of the truck 10 andbeyond both ends thereof.

At the rear ends ofthelrails 24 and 25 is a platform 26 which is mountedon a cross frame' that is bolted to the rails 24 and 25 Vand on thisplatform 26 is mounted a power unit schematically indicated at 27 andenthe preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing,an automobile motor and the transmission mechanism 29 thereof mounted onthe platform 26 in any suitable manner, it being understood that anysuitable power unit may be used. Thegear shift lever of the transmissionmechanism is indicated at 30. Bolted on the truck platform 14 asindicated at 31 is a rack 32 in which is pivotally mounted a handleverV33 tha-tearries a pawl or dog 34 which' is engageable with the teeth 35of the rack 32. A pulley 36 is mounted on the platform 14, by meansofbrackets 37. An upright 39 is attached to the cross frame 38 and bracedbythe brace 'rod 100 miv , sprocket 60 at its rear end and this sprocketw will be driven from gear mechanism 40 which hasone end attached toupright 39 and the other end attached to framev38. A cable 41 has oneend attached to lever 33, eX- tends under the pulley 36,'and has itsother end attached to the upper end of the upright 39 l) It will beseen, there-fore, that by moving the hand lever 33 forward from itspositionv inFig. l the cable 4l will exert a downward force on theupright 39 and the frame 23 will therefore be pivoted about the shaft 2Oto elevate the blowers 42, 43, and 44 which are carried by the frame 23at the front end thereof in a manner to be described presently.

Extending from the transmission 29 of the power unit 27 to a gearmechanism genericallyindicated'at 45, and of any approved construction,is a drive shaft 46.v A driven shaft 47 has one end associated with thegear mechanism 45 and the other end connected by means of a coupling 48to the shaft 49 which is journaled in bearings 50, 5l and 52 that areYsuitably mounted upon rail 24.

A blower supporting frame, generically indicated at 53(F1gs. l, 2 and 5)is suspended from the rails 24 and 25, adjacent the front ends thereof,by means of channel irons 54 and 55 that are suitably bolted to therails 24 and 25 and braced therefrom as at 56. The

vframe 53 includes a bar 57 and a bar 58 that is parallel to bar 57 butshorter (Fig. 5). Journaled in suitable bearing surfaces on thekba'rs 57and 58 1s a shaft 59 which has a 60 is connected by chain 6l to asprocket 62 that'is mounted on the front end of shaf" 49. On the outerand front end of shaft 59 is Vfixed a collar A63 which includes a flange64 that is bolted to the disc 65 of the blower 43,

each of the three blowers including a` disc and Vradially arranged ribsV66 bolted thereto. It

will, therefore, be seen that when the clutch 67 ofthe power unit 27 isoperated to drive shaft 46, through transmission 29, shaft 4g shaft 47will rotate (through coupling 48) shaft 49, which will rota-te sprocket62, chain 61, sprocket 60, shaft 59 and blower rlhe Vmeans fortransmitting` motion of shaft 59 to blowers 42 and 44, so that theseblowers will revolve simultaneously with blower 42, will now bedescribed.

l By reference to Fig. 5, it will be seen that thereis mounted on theshaft 59 a sprocket 68 around which travels av chain 69 that likewisetravels around a sprocket 70 that is mounted on v'a shaft 71 which isjournaled in suitable bearing surfaces in bars 57 and 72 of blower frame53. On the outer end of shaft 7l is a ycollar 73 which has a flange 74that is bolted Vto the disc 75 of blower V42.

A sprocket 76 is Xed to shaft 59, adjacent fbar 57, 'and over thissprocket 76 travels a vchain 77 thatalso works around a sprocket 78 thatis mounted on a shaft 79 which is joursame (counterclockwise as seen inFig. 3) direction as blower 43, while like motion will be transmittedfrom shaft 59 through sprocket 76, chain 77, and sprocket 78 to shaft 79and blower 44 so that the threeblowers 42,43, and 44 will rotatecounterclockwise, as seen in Fig. 2.

lt will best be seen, by reference to Figs.

2 and 5, that the three blowers 42, 43, and 44 are offset from alignmentwith leach other and among the advantages of this odset ar-V rangementof these blowers is that, by means of this arrangement, the threeblowers will sweep or plow a substantially flat.V path or track over thehighway, as will. bebest understood by reference to Fig. 3. ln thismanner a substantially flat wide path may be plowed by means ofthe threeblowers which, as will be seen in the drawing, overlap each other, andthus the undesirable concave path produced by a single blower iseliminated, it being understood that it is impossibley to plow a flatpath with a single blower since the same digs, particularly in driftedsnow, a concave path that is deeper lin the center than at the sides.Thus the three overlapping, odset blowers produce a result that cannotbe accomplished by means of la single blower, it

plates 87,88 and 89 which are offset from each -v other and each ofwhich extends over the top of the blowers 44, 43 and 42 respectively,the

tops of these deflectors being parallel to each other. At the upper endof each of the dellector plates 87, 88 and 89 (Figs. 3 and 4)' is ahinged wing plate 93, hinged by means of a suitable hinge structure 94to 'the corresponding deflector plate, and in each of said wings 93 isan arcuate slot 94. A bolt 95 extends through each deflector plate andthe corresponding slot 94 and on Vtherrear end'of each ofv thesebolts isa wing nut 95 so that each of the plates may be Inovedin a vertical arcand held in a selected position by adjustment of :the nut 9,5. It willbe seen, therevim vius

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fore, by reference to Fig. 3, that when the blowers are rotated in acounterclockwise direction (as seen in Fig. 3) the snow from the blowerswill be deflected from the plates 87, 88 and 89 against the wing plates93 which will control the angle at which the snow will be deflected withrespect to the horizontal and therefore the distance to which it will bedriven to the side of the machine by the blowers. Therefore, when theblowers are rotated, in the hereinbefore described manner, the snow willbe deected against the plates 89, 88 and 87 and to lift, as seen in Fig.3, and in this manner being driven away from the path that is beingplowed by the blowers.

By moving the lever 33 forward, so as to tilt or pivot the frame 23, theblowers may be elevated so that they may be started into aV drift ofsnow from the top thereof, and worked in a substantially vertical planedown through the drift. Thus by moving the truck 10 ahead, shortdistances at a time, the blowers may be employed to eat away a sectionof a drift for each forward movement of the truck. Y

,Having the upper ends of their arms attached, in any suitable manner tothe frame 53, as at 93 (Fig. 4c) are three substantially U-shaped shoesor runners 90, 91, and 92, one for each of the three blowers 42, 43, and4A, respectively, and when the blowers are working these runners restupon the surface over which the blowers are moving so as to provide abase or rest for the blowers and the front end of the frame 23 togetherwith the otherl parts associated therewith.

From the above description 1t will be apparent that the presentinvention pro-vides rotatable blowers arranged in offset, parallel andoverlapping relation with respect to' each other, a deflect-or plateextending over" and above each blower and the topportions' of saidplates being in the same horizontal plane, and a wing plate hingedlyconnected to each of said deflector plates and adjustable in a verticalarc so as toI control the angle at which the snow will leave thedetlector plates `when driven thereagainst by said blowers.V

THOMAS J. N yAL.

a rotary snow plow which may be economically mounted upon any suitablevehicle and which will effectively plow a relatively wide, flat paththrough a snow covered highway, railroad track, sidewalk or other laneof trac.

It is within the purview of this invention to drive the three blowers inoffset and overlapping relation by means of power supplied to shaft49from the motor of the truck 10 or in any other manner such as by anelectric motor, steam locomotive, electric locomotive, and the like.

While I have illustrated anddescribed the preferred form of constructionfor carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation andmodification without departing from the spirit of vthe invention. I,therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variationsand modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect byy Letters Patent is:

1. In rotary, lsnow plows, a plurality of ist

